"Blessed are the Pure in Heart"

A sermon by Pastor Volkhard Spitzer

Youth Meeting, December 28, 1974

Berlin Jesus Center, Nollendorfplatz 5.

Translated by Bill Price

Part 4

Can we read Matthew 26:41? I'll be done in minute. Matthew 26:41. But I think this is important. I think it's so important that we understand these things, and not only understand just for ourselves, but so that we can serve others, and help our brothers and sisters when they have these kinds of problems. Matthew 26:41. Can you read it?

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.

Ahah! Jesus says something really important here. He says, "If you want to have victory, you have to watch and pray so that you don't enter into temptation." [German: fall into temptation]. In English it comes out a little better here. I read a lot in the English Bible, and it says, "that you will not enter into temptation." So it doesn't say "overcome temptation" but "not enter in". That means that you don't even have to come to the point where the temptation is so strong that you have to fight to resist it, but instead you should watch and pray that you don't even enter into temptation in the first place. You don't have to let it go so far that you have to have a tremendous struggle against temptation, like it happens with us so often. But instead you should be so close to Jesus that temptation doesn't have any more power over you.

It's important for us to understand this. Our spiritual lives, our relationship with God is the prerequisite. You will never – let me say this really loud and clear so that it'll go right into your heart: You will never be a strong Christian if you don't have a daily time together with Jesus, where you speak with him and worship him and where you read his Word. If you don't have that you'll never be a strong Christian. I'll even go so far as to say that you won't even be capable of resisting temptation. This is because God has calculated all of this into your Christian walk. If God says, "You shall be more than conquerors. You don't have to be subject to sin any more. You can live a pure life," then he has taken these things into consideration, that you should do what he says. And he said, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation." In other words he says, "If you're not watching, if you're not praying, if you're not eating God's Word" – like the message we just heard recently – "then you have no foundation for resisting the enemy. You will fall."

That's about as natural as it can get. If I don't have three square meals a day, I get weak. And if I fast for a week, I'm pretty feeble, and that's exactly the way it is in our spiritual life. If we don't partake of our spiritual food, where is it supposed to come from? God has set down principles in the spiritual life as well as in the natural life. Okay?

You know, that's what I've been doing recently and it's been helping me so much. I don't really have a regular prayer life or spiritual life either, and as a result it really hasn't been what it ought to be. But recently I brought these two records over from America that have these worship songs, and then I got another record with Hammond organ music, where there's no singing, because singing distracts. And then I put this Hammond organ music record on the stereo that has just the worship songs on it, just the music. And then I sit down and open up my Bible and tell myself, now I'm talking with Jesus. Now I'm having an audience with the King of Kings. And then this music plays softly in the background and then I start reading my Bible.

And recently God has been speaking to me. It's so wonderful. All these rich juicy messages I've been giving are all a result of these quiet times. And God has been giving me these thoughts and he's been speaking to me. And you know, it's been making me so happy. And then I read my Bible for a while, and then I can't read any more. I can't read any more. I just put the Bible away and put on the other record with the worship songs. [Laughter].

This is the way I'm doing it now. Maybe in a couple weeks I won't be doing it like this any more, but right now it's what's helping me. God gives us helps. And when I put on this music, just like we sang a little while ago, this chorus, it helps me, you know. It just creates an atmosphere, just like when the Black Sabbath brings an atmosphere into your room and you start to go "Aaaaaaa…" [Laughter]. That's just the way it is when you bring worship music into your room. It brings in an atmosphere. It makes it easy to worship. And then I kneel down and lift up my hands and say, "Oh, Jesus, I love you so much. Oh, thank you. You've made so many things clear to me this morning. You've given me so much. You spoke to me on the way. I praise you."

And you know, ever since I've been doing that, I wake up at between 3:30 and 4:00 in the morning, and I can't sleep for a while. I start praying. Then I think of this person and of that thing and of that thing and then I pray and worship for a while, and then I get tired again and go back to sleep. And then I wake up in the morning, and I don't wake up in the morning all depressed – "Yuck, another crappy day, and…" [Laughter] Yes, really! But instead I get up in the morning and I'm a little groggy and muddled, you know. And then I get into the shower and spray cold water in my face: "Good morning, Jesus! Hallelujah!" Ha ha! And the day goes much better. It goes much better! And the presence of God is there.

And now when temptation comes – I can tell, I can tell – now when temptation comes – and it comes. It even comes when I am standing well in my faith. But now when the temptation comes, the devil comes and says,"Come heeere," I say "Huh–uuuh!". [Laughter] But if I haven't had my quiet time and if I don't have that connection with Jesus in my heart, do you know how it goes then? He says, "Come heeere." I say: "Huh–uhh?"…[Laughter] Do you know what I mean? [Groaning, as if being pulled against his will] And then finally – Uhhh. And then, "Ohh… And that happens to you. Good grief! You're a preacher of the gospel and you preach and have been a Christian for so long and, … oh. Yeah, it's like I've always said, you'll never be a good Christian." And then I have to come to the realization again, "God, thank you Jesus, thank you that I can come to you." It's so good that we can go to him, isn't it? God didn't make a robot out of you. He didn't put a Good-Behavior button on you so that you always go around: "Hahaaaa!" [Laughter] Now you only do what's good! You've only got an antenna for what's good. "Oh, get lost, I'm only interested in what's good!" No, it's not like that at all, but just like before the Fall. Your condition is just like before the Fall. You're in the garden of Eden. God is talking with you again. Your contact with God has been restored and God is walking with you - but the Tree is there. The Tree is there. The Tree is there every day. Every day the fruits are delightful to the eye. Every day. But you say "No! I have made a decision. I'm going to live for Jesus and I love him more than a moment of pleasure and then the fall into sin. I love Jesus more." You have made a decision and that protects you from sin.

So, all of your thoughts, everything can be used by God. I talked about that last time, how God can bless our talents, that you can make better music, that you can write more beautiful poems, for God, for God's glory. Yes! I told about how Rose Shakarian played the organ when the power went out and the microphones weren't working and thousands of people were sitting there, and a great speaker had been invited to speak. He was going to speak on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that the people would be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the whole electrical system went down and he couldn't shout so loud that the few thousand people away in the back could hear him. He couldn't speak. That was the result of human effort and planning. And then Rose Shakarian came and sat down at the organ, and she had a separate speaker system, and she started playing "How Great Thou Art" and started singing. And the Holy Spirit came upon Rose Shakarian and she started singing and God gave her voice such a volume that it was as if there was an invisible loudspeaker in front of her mouth. The whole auditorium was filled with the song: "Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee" And it was like an annointing over the whole meeting. People came and closed their eyes, crying, and with their hands lifted up, and within a few minutes many people were baptized in the Spirit. That's what God can do. Not too long ago I said that I've heard opera singers like Maria Callas who can sing with a perfection, a human perfection, - and it's left me cold. And then I hear a children's choir singing under the annointing of the Holy Spirit, and let me tell you, it gets you right here. You feel all warm and nice inside. That's what makes the difference, if the Holy Spirit is in it.

And if you can paint, then pray that the Holy Spirit can use your talent so that you can paint better for the glory of God. In America there are youth groups who write their own musicals. They have their own musicals and write their own music for it and then perform it at Christmas. Rich Cook has now written a musical called "Pentecost" – and people are being baptized in the Holy Spirit and they start praising and worshipping God and are converted right during the musical, because it was written under the annointing of the Holy Spirit. God would like to do the same thing with us here. God doesn't want us to sing English songs all the time that we've borrowed from America. As long as we have nothing better, it's great. But I believe that there are people here who have the talent to put German Psalms to music, so that we can take our Bibles and sing ourselves. … (That sounds so modest!) [Laughter].

It's such a pity that some of the most clever and intelligent people are working for the Mafia, and that some of the most beautiful women are walking the strip. Why can't we use the gifts that God has given us … [Laughter] … Why can't we use the gifts that God has given us to win people for Jesus? That should be our whole meaning and purpose. (What I meant to say by that was that the devil can use women to entice men. And why can't God use women who can use their beauty and talents that God gave them in order to win men for God? I believe that. I believe that. I feel sad when I see so many attractive people on their way to hell). Saints aren't made overnight. You don't go to bed one night as Volkhard Spitzer and then wake up the next morning as Saint Francis. [Laughter]. It doesn't work that way.

Character is built in temptation and in resisting temptation. That's how you get strong. You get strong through battle. It's in battle where you make your mark and have victory and have experiences with God. And that's how you become a saint.

(Oh gosh, I'm going to have to skip all this stuff that I was going to talk about).

Oh, but we're going to have to read this! We have to read this or else we don't have the whole picture! 1 John 2. Open up to it. Everybody! It's important that we read this. 1 John, chapter 2, and can we read the first verse? This is what the apostle John wrote to the churches in his old age. Whoever has it can read it out loud. 1 John 2:1.

My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Ahah. "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin." This is the norm, John writes here. This is the norm. "I am writing this that you may not sin." And then in English it says "if". That's the conditional form. "If by chance it should be…" That's the exception. The rule is that you don't sin but that you overcome. "But if it should happen, then we have an advocate, or a spokesman, with the Father, namely the Lord Jesus Christ." And in order to support this let's read 1 John 3:8. This is important, so that when you study it yourself afterwards you don't get confused here. 1 John 3:8.

He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Oh man, what a verse! Whoever commits sin is of the devil. Is there anybody here who has never sinned? So that means that you're all of the devil! What's going on here? … No, no, no, no. Here it's important to know the verse in the original Greek. The Greek text here, it doesn't come out as clearly in German or in English, "Whoever lives constantly in sin…" "Whoever is constantly sinning…" In English they use the "-ing" form, "who is sinning", continually, constantly, over and over again. Whoever is constantly sinning is of the devil. Because whoever is really born again cannot sin constantly. Maybe he is caught off guard by sin once in a while, or he falls down on his face, but he doesn't want to sin. He resists it. He – excuse me – a genuine born-again Spirit-filled person, what does he do with sin? He hates sin. He hates sin. Whoever loves God hates sin. Whoever doesn't hate sin doesn't yet have a real love for God. If I really love someone, really love someone deeply, and really love God deeply, and I know that sin destroys people. Sin destroys God's plan in people's lives. Sin comes directly from the devil. Then I can't help but hate sin if I love God. And that's just what the Bible says: "Whoever is a friend of the world,"  - the Weltgeist, the spirit of the world, whoever still loves that which is unregenerate and whoever loves that which is sinful, the essence of the world, - "the love of the Father is not in him". Whoever lives constantly in sin is of the devil. Because Jesus came in order to destroy the works of the devil. So this isn't talking about a case where someone just happens to be overcome by sin, or when someone gives in to his weakness and then regrets it afterwards, but rather this is talking about someone who feels at home in sin and lives in sin and is a sinner.

We aren't sinners any more, did you know that? We aren't sinners any more. The word "sinner" in the Bible is used for the unredeemed who live in sin. According to the Bible they are sinners. We aren't sinners any more, but rather we are God's children. In any case we are forgiven sinners. We are forgiven sinners. But we are now children of God. God no longer considers us sinners, as lost, as those who live in sin, but God considers us his children. That doesn't mean that we don't have any sin at all, but that we are no longer under the law and compulsion of sin. We are God's children. I think it's important that we understand this.

And now 1 John 1:9, the last Bible verse. 1 John 1:9. We have to include this or else we don't have the whole picture. Whoever has it, read it out loud.

But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Ahah! This is so important. A lot of people have never attained real forgiveness. Do you know why not? Because their heart is not pure. If my heart is pure, without any facade, if it's real, then I hate sin. And then I come to God and confess my sins to him. And that's as far as it goes for a lot of people. They confess their sins to God. But that's not all. If you really want to have forgiveness for your sins, then you not only have to confess your sin and be convicted of your sin, but you must also turn away from your sin, hate sin and abandon it. Only then will you receive real forgiveness. Anything else is only hypocrisy.

But a lot of people hate sin only because they've been caught. They don't hate their deeds, but instead they wail and hate the fact that they were caught sinning and that others now know who they really are. But that's not conversion, that's not forgiveness. But when I confess my sins to him and I'm sorry for my sins, and I regret having sinned and I go to God and confess my sins to Him, and I feel remorse. I'm convicted of my sins and I say, "Jesus, I'm ready to forsake my sin. I hate this sin." The Bible says in that case that He does something. He does two things. He forgives our sins, but He does more: He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. That not only means that he forgives your sin, but he also breaks the power of sin in your life. But that's where this sincere conviction comes into play where I say, "I hate sin" or "I want to hate it." Otherwise there's no forgiveness. Otherwise it's at best just a regret that you just happened to be caught. No change will come in that case. If you don't hate your sin, there won't be any change in your life. In reality you're just going to God and saying, "Jesus, forgive my guilt," so that you can sleep better at night, because your conscience is bothering you at night and you want to be able to sleep better, so you say "Jesus, forgive my sins! Ah yes, now I've put a bandaid on it." But you still don't hate the sin. And because you don't hate the sin, you will probably open the door to sin the next day. Only when you hate sin and reject sin, only in that moment are you free from it and from its power over you.

And then if you can make restoration - that also belongs to forgiveness - if you can make restoration, then do it. If you have stolen some money then go and return it. Just the other day on Sunday morning I was so happy to find that envelope with the message: "I would like to return the 300 Marks that I stole." I think that's fantastic! When someone doesn't just say in a cheap way, "Jesus, forgive me so that I can sleep better at night," but instead "Jesus, I hate my sin! Oh, God, I've hurt you! And Jesus, I want to make up for it." Only then is there real forgiveness and deliverance.

Do you know why so many people go around depressed? Because they don't have forgiveness of their guilt, because deep down they themselves know that they wanted to play tricks with God, that they only wanted cheap forgiveness without being cleansed from sin, and those two things go hand in hand. God forgives us and he cleanses us from all unrighteousness. God wants to break the power of sin in your life. And as long as you don't allow it, as long as you say, "Jesus, forgive me, but I'm going to keep on sinning. I'm going to do it again tomorrow." As long as it's not genuine, sincere, and real, then you have not received forgiveness of your guilt. And then depression creeps in. That's why so many Christians go around depressed. That's one reason, not the only one, but one reason why there's so much unforgiven guilt. And so you have people who have no testimony, no joy, no victory, no radiant faces, no shining eyes, no assurance of salvation. Those are those eternal Christian limpers, who bring more shame to God than praise.

A lot of people say, "I receive Jesus as Savior but not as Lord." Hey, you can't do that. If you say, "Jesus, come into my life", then he comes into your life not only as Savior but also as Lord. Jesus isn't a schizophrenic. He doesn't split himself in half. He is Savior and he is Lord, the Lord of the whole universe and he only comes into your life when you're ready to receive him as both Savior and Lord.

The result is purity. Purity. A power is released in your life. Joy comes into your life. Not a superficial kind of happiness, but a deep inner joy. A freedom comes into your life. You are free. Then the verse is fulfilled that says "Whoever the Son sets free is free indeed." There is freedom. As soon as there is freedom, when your spirit is free, your soul is free, then creative powers are set free. You can't set psalms to music if your inner being is bound to sin and enslaved and chained. But when you're free your spirit rejoices. And then it's easy to set psalms to music. Jesus' leading is in your life. All that is what follows. The gifts of the Spirit can come into your life. His presence is so real in a pure life, in a person who has a pure heart. God's love is there, and your thoughts become clear and you have a purpose for your life. All of that follows with deliverance from guilt and sin when you have a pure heart. God gives you all of that in your life.

And you know the opposite of all of that. The opposite is pride, arrogance, hypocrisy, playing tricks with people, playing tricks, or thinking you can play tricks with God (because it doesn't work with God) by wearing masks, inner bondage, despair, frustration, emptiness, an extreme feeling of loneliness, confusion, these ups-and-downs and ups-and-downs, depression, a little joy, a little lifting up, and then depression again. A little light, and then depression again. That's not a life that you can live with. That's not victory.

But if you have a pure heart then I think that the Bible will fulfill itself literally when it says: "You will see God." You will one day see Him face to face and He will personally lead you through heaven. But here also, here on earth you will see God. You will see God in the peace that you have. You will see God in the leading that's in your life. You will see God in the creative things that you will do. You will see God in the fellowship and openness of your personality, and that you are outgoing. So many people are introverted – many, not all – many are introverted because they are oppressed by guilt, and that's like an isolating wall. They don't come out of themselves. I've seen how people have been set free from sin and guilt. Wham! It was like a wall being blown up. Suddenly they became open and outgoing and extroverted and full of joy. And there's so much, so much that God can do in your life.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God".

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